Activities for Seniors

13 Ways to Incorporate Math Into Your Activity Calendar

Math might not be everyone's favorite subject, but its foundations are in daily tasks like grocery shopping or in more complex tasks like construction. Using these daily and familiar operations, you can give the seniors you serve the chance to use their brain in a different way.

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Fill-in the Blanks - Famous Tennis Players

Fill-in the blanks for these famous former No. 1 tennis players!

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September Birthdays

Every week I put together a Powerpoint of birthdays. These September birthdays are this week (week beg 16 Sept).  I give them clues and the initials and before reveal the famous birthday, let them guess!

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Wheel of Fortune or Hangman with Dice

To make word guessing easier for dementia residents, I assign a number to each blank letter in the answer using numbers 1-6. The player rolls a die and I fill in all the blanks with that number.

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NRL Teams in Australia

Fill in the blanks for these Australian NRL clubs!

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Loneliness and Isolation in Nursing Homes

If a resident prefers to be alone, are they lonely? It can make us feel nervous when we don’t see residents at group activities. However, not all residents appear to want to create a social connection.

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This Day in History for Seniors: October

A reminiscing magazine for every day in October! Enjoy the next edition of the popular 'This Day in History' series with historical trivia, jokes, quotes and biographies!

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Kokedamas

This activity is great for people to do a hands-on garden project that does not take a lot of time.

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Alice in Wonderland Christmas Pantomime

The 2019 Pantomime - number 7 in the series - is now available! We hop you enjoy Alice in Wonderland - a Christmas pantomime written in rhyme!

American Football Word Games

Gather residents to try their hand at a few word games with a football spin, designed to get their brains working. These are great to do all together or to use one or two before other activities begin.

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Pumpkin Decorating Without Carving

‘Tis the season for pumpkins and gourds galore. Brighten up your community, and enjoy some creative time with residents, by hosting multiple pumpkin decorating workshops.

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Mad Science Activities

Host a Mad Science Laboratory event at your community, inviting residents to take a front-row seat in your science class.

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American Football or Soccer?

Did you know most areas across the globe use the word “football” to describe what Americans call “soccer”? Decide if these words and phrases are used in football or in soccer... or both!

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American Football Teams - Fill in the Blanks

Test your team knowledge by filling-in the blanks of popular teams!

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Line Drawing for Seniors

This activity can enhance participants observation skills, and strengthen hand-eye coordination. Pablo Picasso was considered a master at this medium among others.  His animal line drawings are breathtaking in their simplicity.

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My Favorite Teacher Reminiscing

Childhood reminiscing provides validation and assurance for people living with dementia. Most people had a favourite teacher growing up and most would not have had the chance to say thank you to them.

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Christopher Columbus Trivia

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator, who completed four voyages across the Atlantic ocean.  He was the first European to discover a viable sailing route to the Americas, a continent that was unknown at that time.

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Who's Who in the Photo

I wanted to share an activity that I did this morning with my dementia residents. I developed about 60 pictures that I have taken over the last 2 months. We all sat in a circle and I handed them a photo and they tried to recognize themselves or a person in the group. 

4 Comments Member Activity

Baking Bingo

Baking themed picture bingo game. When a resident calls bingo I ask them what their favorite thing to bake is (or favorite baked treat to eat) before I give them a prize.  Great way to reminisce while playing a game. Enjoy!

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Bird Bingo

Bird themed picture bingo game.  We have a bird-watching club and I thought this was a good addition to incorporate into our bird-related activities.  When a resident calls "bingo!" I ask them to read the birds that make up their bingo out loud, then ask what bird is their favorite before giving out their prize. Enjoy!

2 Comments Member Activity

Dog Bingo

Dog themed picture bingo game.  Great for the residents that are dog lovers! I like to plan it when I know we have therapy dogs visiting as our next activity.  So when we finish and real dogs show up, they love it! Enjoy!

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American Candy Word Finder

A candy-themed Word Finder for Halloween!

Marble Sun Catchers

Beautiful sun catchers made with marbles! Mine has been hanging in the Georgia sun for over a year and the glue has not melted.

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More September Poems

Three September themed poemsm to share!

What Am I Quiz #4

A fun quiz for seniors that leads to discussion and reminiscing! What Am I?
After each riddle ask: What am I?

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My Life Timeline

This activity is excellent for reminiscing and it is suitable for residents with Dementia and Alzheimer's where the long term memory is preserved. It is most suitable for one-to-one sessions but it can be done as a group activity as well if the residents can fill the document by themselves or if you have support from volunteers.

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Solve the Riddles #3

Put your brainpower to work and solve these mind-bending riddles!

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Words Starting With OC

All answers start with the letters: 'OC'. A fun October quiz for the elderly!

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The Seven Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

Understanding the disease progression helps us recognize changes in behavior and provide the right support. Symptoms will gradually worsen over time, however there are ways we can make life better at every stage.

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Winter Time Guided Meditation

Allow yourself to feel as comfortable as possible for a really wonderful relaxation is about to begin. Relaxing is our intent today.  Just a small time relaxing can be very beneficial.  This is the time you gift yourself for just caring about your inner wellness which glows from within.

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3 Minute fudge

Residents love to reminisce about their days baking for their families and I've found a lot used to make fudge and love this simple recipe! They request we make it every couple weeks.

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Dear Teacher Poem

Two beautiful poems for school days reminiscing. One from the point of view of a parent sending her son off to school for the first time; the other from the point of view of his teacher.

Member Activity

How to Provide Spiritual Care for the Elderly

Very few care homes have chaplains or pastoral carers. This means that Activity Coordinators are often left to handle spiritual issues. With an open and caring heart, you can do it.

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Bean Auction

Each resident gets a bag of 40 beans to bid on the items they want. The items up for bid can come from the dollar store, or staff can donate items. Our residents love this activity!

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This Day in History for Seniors: September

A reminiscing magazine for every day in September! Enjoy the next edition of the popular 'This Day in History' series with historical trivia, jokes, quotes and biographies!

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How to Get Reluctant Residents to Attend Activities

We work hard at planning activities we know residents will enjoy. There is usually a core group of residents who attend and engage in these activities, but there are some who regularly decline invitations. Once they get to an activity, they enjoy themselves, yet they remain reluctant. Here are some simple techniques to improve reluctant resident engagement over time.

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Poetry Prompts for Gratitude

World Gratitude Day arrives on September 21, but you never need a specific day to count your blessings. Group and individual poetry prompts are wonderful ways to be creative in a new way, along with giving residents the chance to work a new part of their brain.

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Rosh Hashanah Sensory Kits

Honor residents of Jewish background and faith by putting together a sensory kit based on Rosh Hashanah traditions.

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An Orchard of Trivia

September is a big month for farmers in America and Canada, as they are harvesting the crops they have worked so hard to grow since the spring season. Here are some fun facts about the harvest season.

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Comic Book Characters Word Search

A fun word search with featuring famous comic book characters!

Confucius Motivational Quotes II

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.

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Confucius Short Biography

Confucius was an influential Chinese philosopher, teacher and political figure. He became widely known for his teachings concerning the principles of good conduct, practical wisdom, and proper social relationships.

Comic Book Reminiscing

Comic Books - what a great subject for reminiscing!  Whether you grew up glued to the pages of your favourite comic book, or you have never experienced them, you are bound to  discover some exciting storytelling!

Superheroes Quiz

How well do you know your superheroes?!

Paper Moon Rockets Game

We have celebrated this wonderful event by making paper darts or planes to represent moon rockets as attached and launching each residents’ dart in turn at a symbol on the floor, a few feet away, to represent the moon.

2 Comments Member Activity

Late Blooming Artists

Life has so many ups and downs that sometimes you think there is no time for the semi-forgotten dreams we have.  Here are some people who made a late start or remained active throughout their later years. Ask residents to add other late starters to this list.

Words ending with ISH Quiz

The answers to this quiz end with the letters: ISH!

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Guess My Career

I've provided a list of (basic) careers. Without saying the career, describe the role to residents and have them guess who you are!

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The Importance of Political Correctness in Senior Care

Our word choices when providing care is extremely important. Becoming more mindful of how we phrase and even reference caregiving acts is an essential change in the culture of care homes. 

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American Summer Quiz

All About Summer in America Quiz!

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